Contrast-enhanced ultrasound in evaluating the severity of acute kidney injury: An animal experimental study

PURPOSE: Early assessment of the severity of acute kidney injury (AKI) is critical to the prognosis of patients. Renal microcirculation hemodynamic changes and inflammatory response are the essential links of AKI induced by ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). This study aims to explore the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) based on vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) targeted microbubbles (TM) in evaluating the renal microcirculation hemodynamics and inflammatory response of different severity of AKI. METHODS: Eighteen male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups (n = 6): sham operation (sham) group, mild IRI-AKI (m-AKI) group, and severe IRI-AKI (s-AKI) group. CEUS based on VCAM-1 TM was used to evaluate renal microcirculation perfusion and inflammatory response. Pearson's correlation was used to analyze the correlation between ultrasonic variables and pro-inflammatory factors. RESULTS: Compared with the sham group, AUC in m-AKI and s-AKI groups was significantly decreased, and s-AKI group was lower than m-AKI group (P < 0.05). NID of m-AKI and s-AKI groups was significantly higher than that of the sham group, and s-AKI group was higher than that of m-AKI group (P < 0.05). There was a linear positive correlation between NID and VCAM-1 protein expression (r = 0.7384, P < 0.05). NID and AUC were correlated with TNF-α and IL-6 levels (P < 0.05). Compared with early AKI biomarkers, CEUS based on VCAM-1 TM has higher sensitivity in evaluating the severity of AKI. CONCLUSIONS: CEUS based on VCAM-1 TM can evaluate renal microcirculation perfusion and inflammatory response in mild and severe AKI, which may provide helpful information for assessing the severity of AKI.